Eagles Give up 27 Unanswered, Fall 37-19 to Titans
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Kenny Britt and the Titans steamrolled the Eagles in the second half, locking up a 37-19 win. Britt’s 225 receiving yards were a record against the Eagles, topping Tony Hill’s 213 in 1979. Britt was also the first receiver to catch 3 touchdowns against the Birds since 1993.
Britt’s fantastic outing, after he missed the first quarter and a half due to his role in a bar altercation this week, helped the Titans score 27 unanswered points in the final 13:26 en route to the victory.
Kerry Collins, filling in for the injured Vince Young, picked up his first win as a starter since December 21, 2008 and broke a seven game losing streak as a starter. Collins threw for 276 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 17-of-31 passing.
The game was off to a slow start, still scoreless after the first quarter, but things picked up a bit in the second quarter. The Eagles opened the second frame in the red zone, but had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by David Akers.
The two teams then traded turnovers, with Quintin Mikell forcing a fumble by Kerry Collins that was recovered by Juqua Parker. On the Eagles first play from scrimmage, Kevin Kolb was intercepted over the middle. The signal caller was hit as he threw, leading to a wobbly pass down the middle of the field that was picked by Michael Griffin.
The Titans took advantage of the turnover and a key mistake by the Birds on the following drive. On a 3rd and 10 play, Juqua Parker was called for roughing the passer on an incomplete pass after taking Collins to the ground. Three plays later, Collins hit Kenny Britt for the score. It was Britt’s first drive on the field, as Titans head coach Jeff Fisher opted not to start him due to his role in a bar altercation this week.
The Eagles answered though, using a trick play to move the ball 37 yards deep into Titans territory. The Birds used the Wildcat formation, and Jeremy Maclin handed the ball off to LeSean McCoy towards the left side. McCoy tossed it back to Kevin Kolb, who launched the ball downfield looking for Riley Cooper. The pass appeared to be headed straight towards three defenders, but Cooper’s long arms came out of nowhere to make an amazing catch.
Three plays later, Kolb hit Cooper on a crossing pattern for a 5-yard touchdown to put the Eagles on top 10-7 with 2:0 left in the half. The Titans went three and out, giving the Eagles the ball back with 1:10 left and no timeouts. Making things more difficulty, the scoreboard clock stopped working, forcing the Eagles to run a two-minute drill without being able to see the clock.
Philadelphia was pretty successful, as Kolb engineered a 7-play, 29-yard drive that culminated in a 46-yard field goal by Akers to put the Birds on top 13-7 at halftime.
In the third quarter, both teams saw drives stall out inside field goal range – first the Eagles’ Akers from 46 yards, then the Titans’ Rob Bironas from 41 yards out.
Early in the fourth quarter, David Akers added his fourth field goal of the afternoon, this one from 28 yards out, to put the Eagles on top 19-10.
On the first play of the following drive, Kerry Collins found Kenny Britt again. This time, Nate Allen was lost in coverage as Britt beat him for an 80-yard touchdown to cut the score back down to 19-17.
The Eagles went three and out, and the Titans drove 46 yards to set up a 38-yard field goal by Bironas, giving Tennessee a 20-19 lead with 9:31 left to play.
Philadelphia again failed to pick up a first down, and punted it back to Tennessee with 7:30 left to play. A six play drive culminated in a 16-yard pass from Collins to Britt for the receiver’s third touchdown of the afternoon, and an extra point made it 27-19.
Another three and out led to a punt with 4:18 left, and the Eagles forced a punt with 3:49 left, but Jorrick Calvin fumbled on the return and the Titans recovered, allowing them to run the clock down to :22 before a Bironas chip shot put the Titans up 30-19.
Cortland Finnegan added insult to injury with a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown as time expired, leaving the Eagles on the wrong side of a miraculous comeback turned blowout, falling 37-19.
Kevin Kolb was 26-of-48 for 231 yards, a touchdown and 2 interceptions. LeSean McCoy ran 16 times for 48 yards, while Jason Avant caught 6 passes for 60 yards. The Titans got their first win since 2008 in which Chris Johnson did not run for more than 100 yards, as he ran for just 66 yards on 24 carries. Kenny Britt though caught 7 passes for 225 yards and 3 touchdowns, lighting up the Eagles secondary and fueling the Titans comeback.
Philadelphia heads into its bye week at 4-3. After a week off, the Eagles will host the Colts in two weeks.
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